


(Red bean soup) Can you feel my heart

by denimdisaster



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M, Merry Christmas, What more can I say, grocery store au, like rly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-08 16:51:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5505551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/denimdisaster/pseuds/denimdisaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Today was a Tuesday. The old lady with the Dobermann would come in to buy dog food and her weekly groceries today. Takao liked her, she was charming enough and almost always tipped him a little.<br/>Tomorrow was  a Wednesday. That brought the stressed out man and his wife around five o'clock, and the (most likely) stoner at ten pm.<br/>The old ladies, the girl with the sugar daddy, the wrestler who always bought special ordered cat food, Takao knew all of the regulars.<br/><br/>Which was why he got so surprised when they got a new one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Red bean soup) Can you feel my heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Negla :3](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Negla+%3A3), [Mango_bites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mango_bites/gifts).



> yup the title is a terrible pun
> 
> im so tired  
> is this the way things work in japan? idk ive never been outside europe  
> damn im hungry  
> its 5:20 pm on the 23rd and ive been writing nonstop all day n i still have another fic to write  
> im so dead!!!!!!!!!
> 
> but its alright i like finishing stuff
> 
>  
> 
> oh and!!! IMPORTANT NOTICE
> 
> there was another fic like this. i cant remember any lines from it or anything like that, but takao worked at a grocery store n midorima shopped there n one time midorima bought tampons for his sister.  
> ive been trying to find said fic for four hours so that i could ask for permission to post this and at the very least link the fic here, but to no avail!! i literally cant find it!! so no matter much i hate to say it, credits to the person who originally wrote this au for midotaka...
> 
>  
> 
> w/ that said here u go. a messy midotaka  
> merry christmas negla

Today was a Tuesday. The old lady with the Dobermann would come in to buy dog food and her weekly groceries today. Takao liked her, she was charming enough and almost always tipped him a little.  
Tomorrow was a Wednesday. That brought the stressed out man and his wife around five o'clock, and the (most likely) stoner at ten pm.  
The old ladies, the girl with the sugar daddy, the wrestler who always bought special ordered cat food, Takao knew all of the regulars.  
  
Which was why he got so surprised when they got a new one.  
  
Funnily enough, he hadn't noticed the guy until it was his turn in the line. And he really caught himself wondering how on earth he hadn't.  
The guy was tall, incredibly so, probably around two metres. His hair was _green_. His hands, with long, slender fingers, were taped as they lined up ten, twenty, thirty - Takao lost count - cans of red bean soup.  
  
He blinked. Surely the guy wasn't really going to buy all of those, was he...?  
  
"Excuse me, I'm in a bit of a hurry, could you please scan my items?" His gaze flickered towards the giant's face. Wow. He was kind of handsome... High cheekbones, sharp, green eyes, smooth skin and long, so very long eyelashes. He had that kind of face you couldn't really get tired of looking at. And his voice was so nice too, low without sounding hoarse or strained. And quiet. Takao hardly knew anyone who held such authority and expressed such annoyance without raising their voice.  
  
The guy sighed and shook his head.  
  
"If you're not going to serve me, I am going to leave. There are other customers waiting."  
  
He hadn't even realized that he had been staring before the guy called him out. He really must be tired to be making these many mistakes in such a short span of time. First not noticing him, now noticing him all too much? Perhaps working this late was finally taking its toll on him...  
  
"No, no, don't worry! I was just a bit distracted, that's all!" He loudly exclaimed and started picking up the cans.  
  
"There are thirty-two of them", the guy told him. Takao squinted and raised an eyebrow in return.  
  
"And I'm just going to believe that you didn't choose a more rounded number like thirty-five and is trying to get a discount?"  
  
"I... Thirty-two is today's lucky number for Cancers", he mumbled and looked away. There almost seemed to be a faint blush on his cheeks, but it was probably just a trick of the light - there was no way he was actually blushing, was there?  
  
"Really..." Takao chuckled. What a nerd, honestly. He bought _thirty-two_ cans of red bean soup because his horoscope said so?  
"You're probably right, but I still have to control it, 'cause I'd been in a lot of troubles if you ended up stealing some."  
  
The guy nodded and Takao resumed counting the cans, taking his time doing so. There wasn't really a reason for him to do this. He doubted that the guy would lie about something like that and he easily saw that the drinks had been ordered in stacks of 4x8 - but he simply didn't want the guy to leave just yet. He didn't even know why. He wasn't even that interesting. If you didn't count the hair, or the tape, or how tall he was, or how the supposedly followed his horoscope pretty fanatically, or how he really, _really_ seemed to like red bean soup, there wasn't anything particularily special about him. Takao frowned. So maybe he was a little bit interesting, but so what? There were a lot of interesting people in grocery stores, and usually he just wanted them to leave, before they got _interested_.  
There hadn't been many people like that, of course. But there had been enough. So him taking an interest in this mysterious green man? Ridiculous. And yet, it was true.  
  
"Thirty-one, thirty-two. Seems like you were right all along, big guy", he said and grinned at the guy. The scowl told he received in return told him that he didn't seem to appreciate it too much.  
  
"Of course I was", the guy huffed and pushed up his glasses with one taped hand. "I would never go against Oha-Asa when it comes to something like this."  
  
It took Takao a great deal of willpower to not burst out laughing. The only thing keeping him from doing so was the thought of what his boss would say - and what would happen to his salary. Seriously, the guy was a blast! Any thoughts about him being uninteresting completely vanished - the guy was obviously obsessed with horoscopes, and that counted for something. He made a mental note to look up this Oha-Asa once his shift was over.  
  
He did snicker and shake his head while bagging the soup cans, though.  
  
"Have a good evening sir, please come again!" He called after the guy, for once in his life being sincere when he said the familiar words.  
  
  
oOoOo  
  
  
The guy did come back. Takao didn't expect him to.  
The day that he met him, he had looked up that day's horoscope on the Oha-Asa podcast and apparently they were very compatible, Cancer and Scorpio.  
But he didn't really think that the guy would come back after a fiasco like that.  
  
He did. And he bought another set of red bean soup cans - twenty-eight - along with some proper groceries this time.  
  
Nothing really happened. They exchanged 'hello's, the guy paid for his groceries, Takao commented on the large number of soup cans. The guy left.  
  
But he routineously came back. Every Tuesday at 5:30 pm he arrived, buying his red bean soup no matter how hot it was outside. Takao came to appreciate his presence. Of course, he still frowned everytime they talked, and he didn't seem all that fond of him, but Takao knew that it was all just an act. He had caught him staring wistfully at him while choosing his cash register even if the line to Wendy's was shorter. Then again, the reason that it was shorter was because pretty much everyone tried to avoid the lady like the plague, but hey. Still. They had some heart-to-heart talking, with Takao spilling his entire life to a guy that he didn't even have the name of and the guy in question nodding or telling him that he was stupid. They were practically married already.  
  
There was that one time that the man brought a friend of sorts, a blond guy around Takao's height who seemed vaguely familiar, with an earring and eyeliner accentuating his face. His very handsome face. Takao's heart had dropped to the bottom of his stomach until the blond guy - _Kise Ryouta_ , Kay told her, the model - stayed behind to tell Takao that _he should definitely ask Midorimacchi out, the only reason he keeps coming back is you_ before winking and shouting for 'Midorimacchi' to not leave him behind.  
  
  
oOoOo  
  
  
"So, Midorimacchi-"  
  
The guy stiffened. His hands halted where they were packing the soup cans - seventeen - into his bag, his eyes widened slightly, jaw clenched in irritation.  
  
"Don't call me that", he gritted out, not really angry as much as whiny and annoyed.  
  
Takao giggled. "Oooh, so it's a nickname. Does that make Midorima your actual name?"  
  
The man nodded. "Midorima Shintarou", he added, his hands resuming their task. They really were pretty, those hands, fingers long and slim and careful. Just like the guy himself.  
  
"What a nice name... I'm Takao Kazunari", Takao said with a smirk. "Did you choose your hair colour after your name or your name after your hair colour?"  
  
Midorima glared at him and scoffed. "Actually, it goes in the family, just like Midorima is my _family name_ , idiot."  
  
_Oh_. Well, then he needed a nickname of his own as well. "Hey, no need to be so rude, Shin-chan." He smiled to himself. That was a good one.  
  
" _Shin-chan?!_ " Midorima exclaimed with a startled cry. That surprised face looked pretty good on him, all flustered and unguarded.  
  
"Yes, Shin-chan. Cute nickname for a cute person, don't you think?"  
  
Midorima huffed and left the store, but Takao could see the tips of his ears glowing red and his hands shaking as he picked up the bag.  
  
Success.  
  
  
oOoOo  
  
  
Midorima wasn't supposed to be here.  
  
Sure, the store was open and there was nothing that forbid him from entering it, but it was a _Thursday_. At 1pm. Midorima always, always without failure came in on Tuesdays at 5:30. He had already been there once this week.  
Not that Takao was complaining of course, the more he got to see Midorima the better, but a break in such a steady routine meant that something was wrong and Takao didn't like it one bit.  
  
He asked Kay if he could take over her cash register shift. It was the only way he had an excuse to talk to Midorima, after all.  
  
"So, Shin-chan, why the break in the routine? Trying to spice things up?" He asked as he scanned the red bean soup cans - twelve - and the ice cream. 900¥ ice cream? _Jeez, how loaded was this guy?_  
Midorima didn't reply, only grunted a little in response. Takao frowned. He seemed sad, somewhat, like he was in pain. Maybe he should joke with him to make him feel a little less bad?  
  
He picked up the package of tampons and smirked despite not feeling in the mood for jokes.  
  
"Oh, you're picking up stuff for your girlfriend?" He said with a tone that was supposed to be lighter than it was.  
  
"No", Midorima said and grit his teeth. He seemed almost furious and started bagging his items before Takao had finished scanning.  
  
"Sister? Cousin? Mother? Wife? _Mistress?_ " he said and grinned. Would he actually be getting some _information_ on Midorima?  
  
Midorima mumbled something and Takao leaned closer to hear him.  
  
"Sorry, didn't quite catch that, what did you say?"  
  
Midorima looked up at him with an angry scowl on his face, contradicting the blush on his cheeks.  
  
"I said", he said with a voice that was only slightly shaking - whether it was with anger or embarrassment Takao didn't know, "and I quote, 'fucking cis people should mind their own business'. Satisfied?" He snarled and grabbed his groceries, snatching the tampon box from Takao. Did he pay for that? Well, whatever.  
  
_Shit!_  
Midorima hadn't been sad, he had been _ashamed_. Ashamed that he was going to come in irregularily to buy tampons oh god it made sense why hadn't he thought about that? And he pulled up the damn box and made a scene out of asking who it was for, not once thinking it through properly. And it was first rule in customer service to never question what people bought, too...  
  
The lady next in line gave him a sympathetic look and he gave her a weak smile in return, not bothering to exchange the usual 'hello's.  
  
He would have to make this up big time.  
  
  
oOoOo  
  
  
"Alright, Kay, think you can do it?"  
  
Kay huffed at him.  
  
"Of course I can! The Great Thief Yatagarasu strikes again!" She said and posed dramatically. Takao shook his head.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Just slip the note into his bag somehow." He said with an unimpressed look on his face. "And don't read it!" He added after seeing the look on _Kay's_ face.  
  
It had been almost three weeks since the incident and Midorima was avoiding him. Like really, he was, Takao wasn't making it up this time. Midorima was choosing other cash registers - even _Wendy's_ over his -, deliberately taking detours to not meet him in the aisles, walking past him as if he was air when Takao tried to call out to him.  
  
Takao was sick of it.  
  
Sure, he had been a complete ass who hadn't realized what he was doing, but at least he should be allowed to apologize for it? Midorima didn't have to _forgive him_ , but he should listen to his apology at least.  
  
He didn't see Kay putting the note in Midorima's bag, but as soon as he picked it up and left she turned and gave Takao thumbs up to show that she did it. He let out a low whistle. Damn, she was better than he'd thought.  
  
  
oOoOo  
  
  
Midorima stormed into the store half an hour later and Takao made a quiet promise that he would address Kay as her Highness the Yatagarasu for at least a month if this went well.  
  
"What," Midorima huffed, "is the meaning of _this_?"  
  
"The meaning of what, exactly?" Takao asked as innocently as he could.  
  
Midorima narrowed his eyes and held up the note. "'Dear Shin-chan, I am very sorry for making a scene like that. I honestly just wanted to cheer you up 'cause you looked sad. It's alright if you don't wanna talk to me, but I want to at least apologize. Preferably in person, but you're not talking to me... Sad emoji face.'" Midorima raised an eyebrow. "Stars, Kazunari, who'd actually write that out..." He whispered with an amused snort and a fond look in his eyes. There was something about the way he said his name that really tugged on Takao's heartstrings, all soft and loving... "'Here you go though. It's not enough but I can't make things up to you properly over a letter. Please talk to me because I love you. Takao'" Midorima continued and was that a blush on his cheeks? It was! He was blushing because he read his letter and Takao was _ecstatic_. "What did you mean by that, Kazunari?"  
  
Takao scratched his neck. "Well I mean, I know how much you like red bean soup, so I thought you'd like a discount?"  
  
"I wasn't referring to the coupons, although that was very thoughtful of you."  
  
He sighed. "I know... I do like you though. I'd say love, but love is a too strong word and I don't like throwing it around however. I used it in the letter because it didn't seem like you'd come back if I told you that I liked you..."  
  
Midorima nodded. "That's understandable. I wouldn't use 'love' either, but I guess I... I like you back."  
  
God, he looked cute. Really cute. Takao couldn't be blamed for reaching up and kissing him, could he? Not when Shintarou's lips were soft and warm, like he used chapstick, and not when he tasted like red bean soup and watermelon - which probably shouldn't have been a good flavor, but somehow it was. Takao broke the kiss and stepped away a bit, still with Shintarou's arms around him - when they had gotten there, he had no idea.  
  
"Great! The world's most awkward declaration of love has now been cleared. Glad that's over with. Honestly, I can't stand being that nervous." He said and breathed out a sigh of relief. "I really am sorry though. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."  
  
Shintarou coughed into his fist and looked away. "Thank you... I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have reacted so dramatically."  
  
Takao made a non-committal wave. "It's alright. I probably would have reacted the same way."  
  
Shintarou raised and eyebrow and his lips quirked up into a small smirk that looked way too hot for Takao's self control. "No, you wouldn't."  
  
"You're right. I probably would have screamed and demanded to see the manager."  
  
Damn, Shintarou's laugh sounded really good, low and clucking like a river. Takao smiled at him.  
  
  
"Come on, Shin-chan. Red bean soup's on me this time", he said.  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> ive listened to two different 2h ghibli piano mixes im starting to tire a bit  
> anyways congrats for taking urselves thru this  
> yall kno that comments r appreciated so i wont bug u abt it  
> there was smth i was gonna say?????  
> w/e
> 
> merry christmas <3333


End file.
